Mayor thunderstruck with AC/DC

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AC/DC, with former singer Bon Scott, perform on Swanston Street in 1975.

Australia's most successful band, AC/DC, looks set to have a city lane named after it.

Melbourne City Council is tonight expected to approve a recommendation to rename Corporation Lane, a narrow alley off Flinders Lane, "ACDC Lane", in honour of the band's global success. The idea was first suggested in The Age's rock column, Sticky Carpet, in May.

The Age believes the council's planning and development committee will give the go-ahead for the change, pending approval from the band and public submissions. There is already a street named Calle de AC/DC on the outskirts of Madrid. The final decision is expected to be made on July 29.

Lord Mayor John So said the band was a good ambassador for Australia and the council would also consider handing it the "keys to the city" if it received an official written request. An AC/DC spokesman said it would approve the renaming, as long as it was for the fans, and not politically motivated.

The band has sold more than 140 million albums since performing It's a Long Way to the Top on a flatbed truck travelling down Swanston Street in 1976.

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A council report found the name change was in tune with the city's historical and cultural policy, as the band has "strong links with Melbourne" and the lane is in the heart of the city's bar and rock district.

Cr Kimberley Kitching said there was strong support on council for recognising the important contribution of musical and popular culture in Melbourne.

"AC/DC is a world-renowned band and they wrote most of their first album in Melbourne... we should honour that," she said.

Cr David Risstrom, who cites It's a Long Way to the Top as his favourite AC/DC song, is confident the council will support the renaming. "The public seem to really like the idea, so I think it will get up," he said.

The renamed laneway would be called ACDC Lane, not AC/DC Lane, as street names in the CBD are not permitted to have slashes.

Cr So said that the council would consider renaming other lanes in recognition of prominent artists or sportspeople. An Age online
poll of more than 4000 people asking which other artists should be recognised found that John Farnham and Olivia Newton-John were the most popular options.